Find a good web app developer today isn’t easy. Especially if you don’t know what specific skills and experience he should have. The cost to build a website can vary quite dramatically, depending on the web design and technology that you choose. Most websites are larger and more complicated. So, they require more time and additional skills to build them. It is handy to know what things you should think about when planning your website and how this can help you when you brief your potential web developer.

That’s why having seen how in-demand software and web developers are, you’re probably wondering how this high demand translates into dollars. According to the PayScale statistic devoted to the average salary of web developers in the world, the graph below shows that the average web/software developer salary in the United States is the highest globally, at around $90K. Meanwhile, Ukrainian web/software developers command salaries almost three times lower than those of their American peers – around $27K per year (according to Ukrainian web portal DOU statistic).

At the same time, Ukraine has the largest tech talent pool in Europe, convenient location, and more science graduates than Sweden, Norway, Japan, and other countries prized for innovation.

As US famous IT businessman Brett Wilson wrote about Ukrainian Web and Software Development business. “The Ukrainian IT sector is impressive. As one of the largest industries in the country, Ukrainian IT industry is a key component of its future economic success. Today, the volume of software export and web development from Ukraine is about $ 2 billion in a year”.

The export volume of Ukraine’s software and web development industry reached at least $2.5 billion in 2015 (number 3 export sector), showing double digit growth year after year. This is just a fraction of the country’s potential, taking into account its large and skilled workforce, economists predict that the two billion industry will grow by 85% within the next six years. Also, the US market is the main destination for Ukrainian IT firms, with an estimated 80% volume of exported services.

I should mention that Ukrainian IT NEWS has claimed that far from completion, the Ukrainian reform effort is significant, with several e-government projects launched in 2015. Important legislative changes are expected in the short term in the field of IP protection, in line with the 2014 Association agreement signed with the EU. IT service export regulations are to be simplified, while local IT companies will be better protected against bureaucracy and corruption.

Talking about technology, we also compare how the prices in the web development the USA and Ukrainian job market depending on the programming language.

The most common language is still Java (23% of the market), JavaScript gets the second place (16%), slightly ahead of C # in popularity. In 4th place, as before, – PHP (13%) with a large margin from Python (8%). Programming in C ++ takes 5% of the market, followed by Ruby (4.5%), Swift and Objective-C. Closes the top ten most popular languages – Scala (1.5%), ahead of C and 1C.

The next step is analyzing the implementation sphere of these technologies. The useful source of information to consider, is the IEEE Spectrum. This is a resource that determines popular programming languages via weighing up many different factors, such as the amount of job site listings, current search trends, or open-source hub projects. Here’s what they determined for 2016.

Predicting the Web Developer Hiring Trends for 2017

Hiring suitable web developers have always been a challenge for CIOs, and 2017 isn’t any different; the key languages in demand are likely to stay in such a position. Around 63% of leaders in the IT industry expects 2017 salaries to remain close to their 2016 equivalents, and 1% believe the worldwide average salaries will actually drop. Many young developers are entering the web development industry with knowledge in C, C++, Ruby, and JavaScript, which will certainly have a positive impact on the space.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are a number of factors that influence on the cost of a web development project and the salaries of web developers. Actually, it can be subjective and quite difficult to predict the cost. So, there some factors that have impact on the price not only Ukraine but around the world:

The programming language, overall technical skills, and experience of a web developer.

The level of experience of a web developer (Senior/Middle/Junior). But be attentive, in different companies and countries the method of level calculation is different.

The developer’s geographical location.

Developers in the USA and most of the developed European countries are very expensive.

The demand and supply for that particular skill set.

Ruby on Rails is in high demand but there aren’t enough developers. The salaries are higher than some of the others object-oriented languages.

PHP is in high demand and there are many resources so it is still affordable and may vary according to their knowledge and experience of PHP frameworks.

Web developers and designers are the people involved in developing Word Wide Web applications or distributed network applications. Web designers are the team of workers that work in close cooperation in order to accomplish client demands. The basic aim of the web application development team is to satisfy client needs in meeting all their requirements. Web developers play an important role in fulfilling client requirements.

They are the software developer or the software engineers exclusively engaged in developing the web application designed by their team. Web developers works on the decision of web designers, in turn the web designers pattern the application according to client’s demand.

Basically, web designers will have good communication with the clients and provide a document on the client’s requirement to development team. The developers work upon the requirement to develop exact result of the final project. Web developers had to work on a particular project in one or more tires based on the size of the development team. Some developers participate in two or more fields in order to complete the project in time. The developers are dissevered, for example a group is assigned to work on the technologies sent to the client and other group can be ascribed to server-side frameworks.

Web designing is a complex process and it requires ongoing activity. The web development team works on the basic aspects of design to bring out expected result. They usually focus on the content of the website, usability, appearance and visibility. These aspects are nothing but the expected ones of the clients. They need their website should contain reliable information. They mainly expect their website should be attractive and user-friendly on which the designers earnestly work on.

Web designing team has certain model which contains steps to be followed to produce tangible product that fully meets requirement of the client. Nowadays, development team uses fourth generation language to develop the web applications which are rich in facilities. At the first phase, the developers work out in producing prototypes. The prototype is built to quickly demonstrate to the customer what the product would look like. Only minimal functionality of the actual product is provided at this phase. The prototype thus developed by the web developers are reviewed by the designer team and forwarded to customer for demonstration. Customer and the developer team virtually sit together side-by-side and gets feedback on the prototype that the developer shows the client.

Once the feedback is obtained they are documented. These requirements become the basic requirement of the actual system. Reviews on prototype are estimated by the web designer team, during each feedback issued by the client. The web exploitation team likes to spend most of its time in development of the web application, as these are closest to recent technologies. The technologies of today are more advanced and rich in its feature. Work of web developers and designers are made easy and the product is delivered to the client in time.

Your business is… well, whatever your business may be: human resources, plumbing, running your restaurant. Many SME owners are privileged to do what they love and work very hard to make their businesses successful. Whatever you do, you want your website to work for you, but you want to spend your time running your business, not working on the nuts and bolts of website design, so when you need web services, how do you ensure that you are doing the right thing for your business?

This straightforward checklist will allow you to manage your web service needs from start to finish and to make sure you get the best quality and value web development for your company.

Which web services do you need?

If you don’t yet have a website, the first step is to write down exactly why you want a website and what you want it to do for your business. Is it an online business card for reference? Do you want to sell products or services via your site? Is it to improve communication within or outside the organisation? All of these factors influence the design and development of your website, who might be best suited to do the work and the potential cost.

If you already have a website, try to pinpoint exactly what you do and don’t like about the existing website and how things might be changed. Try and be specific: rather than noting that it looks outdated, identify what makes it so: is it the colour scheme or the fonts? Is the navigation clumsy or out-of-date? You don’t have to be a web design expert to do this, but it will give you a head start in looking for a web developer to solve these problems.

Next, prioritise your “wishlist”, which may be a combination of specific points, e.g. improving the layout and more general needs e.g. “I want to drive more business to my website”. Once you have this, you have a brief which a web developer can use to work out the web services needed and how to achieve the desired results. Since the list is prioritised, when it comes to obtaining quotes for the work, you can decide how much is achievable within your timeframe and budget.

Choosing the right person

Do you need a web designer, web developer or programmer? The terms may all sound similar, but there are distinct differences in the work they do and therefore what you can expect from their web services for your site.

A web designer focuses primarily on the appearance or look and feel of the website, including the layout. A good web designer should be an expert in making websites visually powerful and impactful and in drawing visitors to the right areas of your website. Some web designers combine their services with graphic design, so if you have a new look and feel branding on your website, they can incorporate it for you on company letterheads and business cards too.

A web programmer focuses more on functionality. He or she might program solely for the web or may do software programming too. The programmer’s concern is getting features of your website to work. Examples may include building an online intranet or database application, where information can be stored on your database and manipulated via your website. In larger companies, these roles are often split so that programmers work on the “back end” – the features that make a website work and then apply the “front end” created by a web designer to make the site more attractive.

A web developer muddies the water considerably, sorry. Web developers can incorporate elements of design and programming. Web development is a broader term for getting a website online and making it work. You can expect a good web developer to have an eye to both the appearance and functionality of the website.

If you need to narrow it down and you’re not quite sure about the technicalities, have a look around your site. Most likely your URLs in the address bar will have some kind of extension e.g.(.html,.asp,.php,.cfm). Try Googling for terms like “asp developer” to find someone with the specific skills to enhance your website.

Grill the portfolio When you visit a web developer’s website, check their portfolio thoroughly and don’t stop there – look for their clients’ website online. If you are looking for website redesign to allow you to update content more easily, how well are the developer’s portfolio sites maintained? If you are primarily concerned with Search engine optimisation (SEO), how do client sites fare on search engines for the relevant terms?

The personal touch Above all, pay attention to client recommendations. The website can show you the end result, but the recommendation can tell you about the web design process with this particular individual or company. Every SME is different, but with all those I have worked with, one thing has remained the same: the importance of the personal touch. Whether you are employing a freelancer or a big web development company, you need to ensure that you can establish a good relationship with your web developer. How quickly and thoroughly do they respond to emails or phone calls? Are they forthcoming with advice and what sort of advice do they offer? Again, you don’t have to be an expert, you just have to judge whether you think it rings true and fits for you and your business

Go big or go local? Web design and development is big business and variety is the name of the game. Google, Bing and Yahoo! can play a big part in your decision, but rankings aren’t always the whole story.

It is well worth considering a local web design company or developer, because they may have local contacts to help you promote your website or greater access to resources like online business directory listings which can boost your search engine rankings.

I worked with a Cambridge charity who wanted to employ a Cambridge web developer because they knew the web services needed would be ongoing and that discussion and meeting face to face in Cambridge would be important to them, rather than discussing their needs over the phone or email.

How much should web design cost? As with any investment you make for your SME, it goes without saying that you should shop around and get a few quotes. Even if you know which developer you want to go with, it is worth checking that you are being charged the going rate for the web services needed. If the web design prices are above average, you need to decide whether your relationship with the company or freelance web developer are worth paying the extra cost. If the prices are considerably below average, this should set alarm bells ringing. Canny SMEs know that you always get what you pay for.

Working as a freelancer, I know that my clients prefer me to be upfront about costs and that it builds trust. Beware companies who hedge their bets with quotes as it might be a telltale sign of inexperience. However, it is worth bearing in mind that quoted prices are only a starting point. As an SME, it is down to you to hash out exactly what is included and what is not. For example, many sites offer SEO friendly websites. This means that the web design will incorporate the features needed to give your site a boost on Google. However, SEO does not stop here. In my experience, building websites for Cambridge companies in search engines is an ongoing process which takes place over a period of time.

Web design prices: break it down If in doubt, ask the web designer or developer to break the cost down per task. That way, if there is a time-consuming feature which is not at the top of your web design wishlist, you can decide whether or not it is worth the web developer’s time and – more importantly – your money.

Your SME, your website Love or loathe the internet: your website is a big part of your company’s identity. It pays to get it right; it costs to get it wrong, so take your time to find the web services you need.